1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to driving tools used for driving driven members such as nails and having driver guides. Such driver guides can be used to direct driven and driven members used by tools.
2. Description of the Related Art
A nailing machine is a known tool configured to drive driven members, such as nails, into an object. Such a nailing machine is equipped with a magazine that can be loaded with a plurality of nails. The plurality of nails may be bundled together in an appropriate number (for example, ten) by a strap-like connection member formed by the molding of an appropriate resin. The nails thus bundled up may be pushed out by a driver, whereby the connection resin strip is broken between the first nail to be driven and the second nail. The second nail is positioned next to the first nail. This enables the nail to be driven into the object (see JP-A-11-179678 also published as U.S. Pat. No. 3,520,754 and JP-A-2000-158360 also published as U.S. Pat. No. 4,047,988).
In the following description, nails thus bundled together by a connection resin strip will be referred to as a “nail bundle”; a nail driven into an object will be referred to as a “driven nail”; and a final nail remaining after the successive driving of nails from the nail bundle will be referred as a “last nail.”
In this kind of nailing machine, in accordance with legislative safety measures, the ejection end of the driver guide is formed as a contact top, so that nails can be driven only when the contact top is pressed against an object. More specifically, when the contact top is pressed against the object, the driver guide moves toward the base end side (that is, the side of the nailing machine main body), so that the contact top can be detected as being pressed against the object. In this way, the nail driving operation is possible only when the contact top is being pressed against the object.
On the other hand, each nail of the nail bundle loaded in the interior of the driver guide may be supported by the nail bundle via the above-mentioned bundle resin strip except when it is the last nail. That is, the bundled nail loaded into the driver guide is supported by the inter-nail support via the bundle resin strip, whereby the driven nail can be supported while being set in position at the correct driving position inside the driver guide.
A structure is capable of detecting the contact state of the nails in order to adjust the position of the driver guide. When one final nail remains, such nail cannot be supported by the internal support of the bundle strip. In this situation, the driver guide is often not place in its correct position. Resultantly, problems often occur with the final nail. It may not be placed in the correct position or it may get driven along with the nail positioned before it.
Thus, when the driver guide moves due to the structure capable of detecting the in-contact state of the driver guide, the last nail, which cannot be supported through the inter-nail support via the bundle resin strip, is deviated from the correct driving position in the driver guide as a result of this movement, with the result that the last nail may be get out of a driving course or may be driven together with the next nail.
Therefore, there has been a need in the art for a technique enabling the last nail of the bundle resin strip to be correctly positioned at a driving position.